With all of the insanity in Michigan’s legislature these days with people like Cindy Gamarat and Todd Courser, I thought it would be a nice break to show that we’re not the only state with Republicans that are … um … “different”.

Today I present you with Michele Fiore, a Republican member of the Nevada state assembly. Fiore has a really fun history. First, she’s a filmaker who made the blockbuster hit almost unheard-of movie “Siren” (4.8 out of 10 stars on IDMB.com.) That’s her on the right there in one of the starring roles from that film.

The Federal Communications Commission will soon issue its new rules on net neutrality which will prevent large telecommunications corporations from regulating access to the internet by allowing some customers to get better, faster, and/or more reliable access through pricing arrangements or other deals. President Obama has come out strongly in favor of net neutrality rules as have most progressive groups and Democratic lawmakers.

Republicans, of course, with their ties to Big Business, are decidedly NOT in favor of net neutrality. So, as a preemptive move, they recently introduced legislation to restrict the ability of the FCC to regulate telcomm’s ability to control access to the internet in favor of the highest bidders.…

It takes a lot to surprise me when it comes to Republicans these days but this story is leaving me with my head shaking. U.S. Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin is suing to stop the Affordable Care Act because, according to him, it has hurt his political reputation and his political career.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Explaining this is a bit complicated but I’ll give it my best shot. Basically, when the ACA was drafted, a provision was put in that required members of Congress and their staff to leave the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) and sign up for healthcare under the Obamacare exchanges.…

Rick Santorum’s grandfather came to America in 1923 as an immigrant but that fact does not deter him from thinking that we have a big problem in this country that’s “almost as bad” as illegal immigration.

The problem, according to Santorum, is LEGAL immigration.

According to Santorum, all those legal immigrants coming into America are taking the jobs meant for “native-born Americans”. They have taken every single one of the over six million jobs that have been created in the past 14 years, he says.

Speaking at a New Hampshire Legislative Leaders Breakfast this morning, Republican presidential contender Rand Paul made it clear what he thinks about people who receive disability benefits: over half of you are scam artists who are “gaming the system” with your so-called “anxiety” and “back pain”.

You know, the thing is is that with all of these programs, there’s always somebody who’s deserving and everybody in this room knows somebody who is gaming the system. What I tell people is, “If you look like me and you hop out of your truck, you shouldn’t be getting a disability check.” You know, over half the people on disability are either anxious or their back hurts.…

Republicans in Michigan and around the country are lining up to reject the notorious bigot Dave Agema. Here in our state, multiple Republican elected officials have called for his removal from the Republican National Committee:

Oakland County Sens. Mike Kowall and Jim Marleau and Rep. Jim Tedder sent the 168-member Republican Party governing board a letter Tuesday pleading that it “end our party’s long nightmare” and remove Agema and his “hateful rhetoric” from the RNC.

Separately, Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof issued a statement Tuesday calling for Agema to resign after a string of public and social media outbursts that critics have decried as racist and homophobic.

Republicans know they are in deep trouble across our country. Their popularity is plummeting — their “unfavorable” rating is nearly 50% — largely thanks to efforts to stop people from voting, attacks on women and the LGBT community, and for making sure government doesn’t work and then blaming that on Democrats. In response, they have turned to deceptive strategies intended to deceive voters about their candidates.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which came under fire earlier this year for a deceptive series of fake Democratic candidate websites that it later changed after public outcry, has launched a new set of deceptive websites, this time designed to look like local news sources.…

Yes, it’s a fundraiser. Centered around how much the GOP misses George W. Bush.

What was it? The wars against an enemy that didn’t truly threaten us? The catastrophic tax cuts that favored the uber-wealthy and blew a gigantic hole in our budget? The Great Recession? What? What exactly is that you miss?…

They keep trying to dig them up, but Americans are responding with success stories instead.

Dodgy or dumb? When Republican candidates won’t talk about the issues, it’s tough to tell the difference.

What is it with Republican candidates refusing to talk about their positions on the issues? Maybe they’re afraid voters won’t like what they have to say. Or maybe they don’t know the answers.

In the case of David Trott, who is running for the seat in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District held by Kerry Bentivolio, it could be both.

Trott has studiously avoided answering questions about the Republican budget crafted by fellow Scroogian Rep. Paul Ryan. The super-wealthy foreclosure vulture is pandering to high-dollar donors and big business interests, so alienating middle class voters doesn’t seem to be an issue to him.…

Tony Trupiano is the host of the radio program, The Voice of the People, heard on blogtalkradio.com every Monday through Friday from 9 AM until Noon ET and the author of two books, and has been part of the progressive media landscape for 20-plus years. Known as "The Voice of Labor" and as an activist & advocate, Tony has no problem showing up for a good fight. Follow him on Twitter @tonytrupiano.